Prospectus
by Long Island
Summary: Some thoughts on the upcoming fourth season.


Disclaimer: I have and make no claim on any Hannah Montana copyright. Non-HM characters and settings are my own.

Author's note: There is a character with a familiar name in this story. He is just a fiction, no one by that name actually exists.

. . . . .

"Good morning all. Thank you for coming to order. We need to get this meeting started. As you know, a fourth season of Hannah Montana has been greenlit, this meeting has been organized to describe what will be happening going forward, and to define the character of what is in essence almost a new show."

The Operations Vice President for Live Programming Development and Production stopped speaking and looked around the conference room. He was seated at the head of a long, opulent, wooden table; others filled chairs set arm to arm around the oval mass. More still were standing behind those in chairs, two and in some places three deep. All looked suitably attentive, he was likely the most important executive in the company today. Ratings for most of the network's live shows these past several months had ranged from dismal to disturbing. One might think this would make him the company's most endangered executive, but blame travels upwards in major corporations, it was those below him who worried for their futures. The entire room hung on his every word.

"I'll introduce you now to the person who will outline the direction the show will be taking and hand off the meeting to him. Please welcome the new Director of Creative Development, Live Programming Division, Mister Long Island, who joins us after several years effort at script doctoring numerous programs which benefited greatly by his talents."

The executive pointed his hand to the far end of the table, all eyes followed. The man seated at the opposite pole of the conference table rose and nodded, first to the ranking executive, then several times to each side, acknowledging the quiet applause he received. He was a grey suited man of average height and build, clean-shaven, with short brown hair and greying sideburns.

"Good morning, thank you for your kind greeting. I am very pleased to be joining our team here, this is something I have wanted to happen for some time now. As you've heard, there are a number of changes being put into effect, I'll walk us through each so we can be all on the same page, and can begin considering alterations or alternatives which may improve on the current planning. Also, please call me Long.

To begin with, the only characters being carried forward are Miley, of course, and Robbie Ray. He because the network doesn't want to risk losing any of the show's demographic. Fathers are popular among the audience, also, parents of our target demos might be upset by a teen girl living alone in the city, so he stays.

As this implies, Miley is moving to Los Angeles proper. A penthouse apartment for Hannah Montana. Her dad will live next door. He needs to be immediately available, but separate from her life. Her life is the show. As to the show's other principals, Jackson, of course, is off to college. Lilly, to the cornfield."

Island looked around and saw that his Twilight Show reference had fallen on unknowing ears. He moved on.

"The boy, Oliver, is a special case. That actor has a family connection to our lead which is out of our control, or hers even. He will have to have a cameo or two. Family politics wins at our network. Cameos by the others are unlikely. They seem decidedly intransigent, as if they actually mattered to the show. It has not been entirely ruled out though, should Miley and her people approve.

There is a major new constraint to the show. Our star and her people want to showcase her concert talents, singing and dancing. The production numbers in the High School Musical property have made quite an impression on Miley and her people, and also here at corporate. It was suggested that each episode feature such a production, done on par with HSM. This proved unworkable, that many fresh, quality songs suitable to our purposes could not be guaranteed, also, the projected production budget could not support the effort.

This led us to create an alternative plan. The season will be grouped into sets of three or four episodes each, each set featuring rehearsals for such a number, culminating in the performance. Unlike High School Musical, our productions won't be plot conveyances, they will be Hannah Montana concert performances, filmed before a live audience. The final episode of each set will be entirely built around the concert performance.

As this suggests, the new cast will be drawn from the dancers, musicians, and backing singers needed to support the Hannah performances. A good deal of effort had gone into creating the necessary characters when everything was upturned by a suggestion from Miley herself. It seems she's a fan of those follow-me-around reality shows, she suggested the show be done in that style as a pseudo-reality show. We all know that such shows are a mix of scripting and improvisation, Miley asked if that would be possible with Hannah Montana.

With the new rehearsal-to-performance set arcs, this seems more than just doable, it seems tailor-made. We can hire based on musical number requirements, not acting ability. Those who don't click with the audience, or with Miley, can be relegated to the background, others brought to the fore. Not entirely, of course. We need two male cast members to compete for Hannah's attention, to create romantic tension on the show. This aspect will of course be entirely scripted.

You can tell by now the new show is quite Hannah-centric, but we can not entirely short change the Miley Stewart end of things. The audience we hope to retain is very fond of the Stewart side of Miley, we must keep them happy. To begin with, there must be a crossover character, one who knows both Hannah and Miley. We have come up with a dancer, female, several years older than our star but not too much so. She fills several niches. She can accompany Hannah anywhere, in a more mature and welcomed fashion than the previous such character. How to connect her to Miley took some consideration. We have come up with making her a Stewart cousin, which makes her an easy fit in the Stewart households. Not only does this cover the why, it also can allow Miley Stewart to interact with the Hannah castlings.

That about rounds out our current thinking about the show, with just these few codicils. It has been decided for us that no female cast member who has a regular speaking role can be blonde. That at the insistence of our star's people. Also, should any blonde female background player be given more than three lines of dialogue in any one episode, those are to be her final lines on the show, no exception. I have been told these two conditions are non-negotiable. I suggest we accept and move on. Now I'd like to open this meeting to questions and comments. Please be as direct as possible. What do you think?"

. . . . .

Note: I am not fishing for reviews with the ending, I just think it a good way to end the story.


End file.
